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Poster for Distant Voices, Still Lives

Distant Voices, Still Lives

In memory, everything happens to music.

1988 · 1h 24m Drama, Music
Directed by Terence Davies

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Overview

Siblings Maisie and Tony, along with their mother, gather for their sister Eileen's wedding. It is a joyous occasion, but through flashbacks, it becomes clear that the family was not always happy. Their father was physically abusive to his wife and left the children emotionally traumatized. As a result, the children have grown into unhappy adults, looking for love they didn't receive when they were young.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
Fresh

With an unfailing eye for place, decor, costume, and gesture, the director glides his camera through tangles of memories to evoke joys and horrors with a similar sense of wonder.

Richard Brody, New Yorker
Fresh

A gripping and original piece of work, itself sure to be remembered as one of the finest films of the year.

Dave Kehr, Chicago Tribune
Fresh

Just as you think you have its moves all doped out, a scene of such shocking beauty flashes before you that it takes your breath away.

Sheila Benson, Los Angeles Times
Fresh

When a forty-four-year-old man makes a movie about his family and friends sitting around singing old tunes, you certainly don't expect an unforgettable amalgam of humor and heartbreak. But that is precisely what Terence Davies delivers.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Fresh

Screen dreams are strangest and strongest when they hit close to home. In Terence Davies' searing [Distant Voices, Still Lives]... mystery resides in the vision of his mother, magically poised on the hall sill, washing the outside windows.

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

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